The Elastic Band Theory
by animechaser
Summary: Shikamaru always had a talent for getting others to understand. Naruto wasn't too fond of elaborate explanations, so the shadow nin showed him with the objects in the tea house. SasuNaru.


**Expirementing with writing styles**

**Pairing: Sasuke & Naruto**

**Disclaimer: …..it's a 'fanfiction' website.....**

**Boys in love. Don't like, hit return.**

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****The Elastic Band Theory**

Naruto gazed through blurred glass somberly. True, rain was hitting gravel mercilessly in leaf. But damp or density of the atmosphere wasn't the source of Naruto's bother. Shikamaru ingested another shot of caffeine, savoring the scorching drink.

"You're staring at Sasuke again." Shikamaru observed promptly.

"No." The kitsune responded defensively, the grunt lacking persuasion. "Just the weather." the kit shrugged, nonchalantly. The blond had the decency to recoil from the view of raven black. Moments later he wasn't engaging much effort to not let his eyes fall blatantly back home on his former team mate.

"I guess the rain conceals you." Shikamaru encouraged dryly, settling a white cup down. "There's a belief if you stare at someones back long enough, eventually they'll turn around. That the idea?" Naruto didn't appreciate the smug torment. "What? You think I'm stupid...? I know you're looking at him again." The Jinchuurki let his neck shake left and right.

"No. You're not stupid, you're no fool. You're the real genius from my academy. It's just about about providing an excuse so you can take one." The shadow nin comprehended, shrugged neutrally and didn't find voice to comment.

"So other than sneaking glances every other second you're thoroughly ignoring him. Contradicting mix." Shikamaru concluded. Naruto sulked. "Whether others notice you wont even answer to the subject of him. He knows he's being ignored, and that's the main thing. Kind of ironic, you spent this much effort securing him here and now that the naturally prone to depression Uchiha's here, you're ignoring him." The blond ascent his head.

"I imagine you have your reasons to though. Something deep, not something as plain as you grew out of him. Or you don't know how to start. After that, it's that you're annoyed at him so you've decided on not acknowledging his existence, because that hurts him."

"So you're still going to drag _him_ up. Well, that's it in a nutshell, I'm pissed off at him. He just walked right back into our lives so easily. I just want to put up a little protective barrier around myself that only applies to him."

"Understandable... But it's usually him who has the more severe pride issues, ...not you."

"Are you going to tell me to run back to him...? I don't like the lectures. And damn witnesses like you and Sakura just make it difficult to evade the bastard." Naruto's grim look dared Shikamaru to mouth an opinion.

Shikamaru shut his eyes languidly, almost casual enough for someone to overlook the closed lids and asleep posture. Under the table, arms suspiciously close and fingertips met. Naruto acknowledged the shadow nin forming the infamous thinking stance. Then the brunette's eyes greeted the light tiredly. He looked around and a tongue dipped out to provide lips with moisture contently. Shikamaru leaned forward readying to explain.

-

"Listen to this carefully carefully. Don't speak for now..."

_Shikamaru laid out an elastic band. Naruto observed just the band questionably then raised his chin toward Shikamaru._

"It doesn't matter where I got it from, Naruto."

_After Naruto had frowned at Shikamaru reading his mind the place mat was centered on the table and an mp3 player placed beside the elastic band._

"This place mat, the same color as the band and decorated with leaf prints. This will represent Konoha."

_Shikamaru touched the place mat pointedly. Naruto nodded understanding._

"The mp3 player can represent the Sound country. I think that's befitting."

_Shikamaru pointed lazily and with a new mild distaste at the mp3 player._

"In the past: At some point this band... snapped."

_Shikamaru pinged the band. But tried to ensure it still landed within his reach._

"-And went to Sound."

_'Sasuke...' was whispered by Naruto. Shikamaru wrapped the band slowly around the black mp3 player._

"Even though it doesn't really belong there. Most think it doesn't, most think It's home is Konoha."

_Shikamaru pointed out the prominent color similarities between the band and the place mat and continued._

"Currently."

_Shikamaru let the band remain uncomfortably connected to Sound._

"This band got convinced to come back to Konoha."

_Naruto smiled gently but briefly. Shikamaru stretched the band easily so it was touching the place mat too._

"But in this state the bands still delicate."

_Shikamaru ran a finger over the straining material as the band continued to be stretched between the place mat and the mp3 player._

"Equally important observation. In this sensitive state... the bands in Konoha but it could still snap back to Sound."

_Shikamaru didn't give a demonstration for this. But glanced at the band still being attached to the mp3._

"And the band... came back for a reason."

_Shikamaru put a lighter steadily into the picture. Shikamaru used it like a paper weight to keep the band on the place mat instead of his finger holding it there.  
_

"If the reason goes..."

_Shikmaru removed the lighter and the band sprang unassisted back to the mp3 player. _

"I can't really demonstrate it but the band isn't going to settle back into Konoha without it's lighter. And worse, if the the reason, the lighter, shuns the band away then the band could spring back to Sound. I mean the it's probably within the bands capability. Especially without the lighter."

_Shikamaru didn't pocket the lighter but he slid it significantly far away from the band, place mat and mp3._

"I have a feeling the lighter doesn't want the band going back to the mp3 player instead of the place mat." 'I have a feeling you don't want Sasuke going back to Sound and out of Konoha.'

_Shikamaru spun the lighter idly in circles._

"There are other things i can imagine the lighter doesn't want to happen to the band."

_Shikamaru flung the band away from from the place mat and the mp3. _

"I don't think the lighter would want the band to completely disappear. At least if the band is in Sound the lighter can chase after it."

_Shikamaru brought the band back._

"Also. Other things the lighter supposedly wouldn't want happening to the band."

_Shikamaru cut the elastic band with a kunai. _

"Good as dead. You don't want the band with no place to belong. It's not exactly beneficial to the lighter."

_Shikamaru slid the lighter around tortuously slow._

"You should also know. The lighter can really do the band some damage."

_Shikamaru used the lighter to burn a piece of the band._

"But if you really want the band, it's manageable."

_Shikamaru took out a pen and started scribbling things onto the band. They came out brief but clear. Shikamaru tied the band around Naruto's wrist._

"Don't underestimate. The bands quite fragile."

_Shikamaru traced over the knot and the cut ends on the band hanging neatly around Naruto's wrist. _

-

Vivid skies looked onto the elastic material. They scanned over it quizzically. Inked down diagrams sitting boldly on the rubber. a moon crescent and a burning sun. Naruto frowned at them. Mud, even with nailing all Shikamaru's complex speech, this was as clear as mud. That or the washed down window on his left.

"Sun and moon? Orbiting and rotating around each other." The Jinchuuriki said ambiguously.

"-Chasing. They say; Although the sun looks bright, when the cloud covers it, the sun cries. And the moon always looks so lonely. because it never managed to get close enough to the sun." The shadow nin said somewhat with a distraction in his eye.

"You're quite imaginative today Shika." The kistune sighed. "Most impress some." He ignored Naruto's comment.

"Do you understand? all of it?" The shadow nin asked.

"I actually managed to, except for the drawing - not that it's badly drawn. And true, i don't want Sasuke leaving again as much as he seems like greif here." The blond admired the craftsmenship, it wasn't bad considering how much space there was on the elastic band. Then he inhaled sharply and asked, "Wait, are you saying I'm the sun on this and Sasuke's the moon? Sasuke's kind of like the moon, all gloomy and dark sometimes." Light sounds escaped Shikamaru's lips involuntarily, chuckles.

"Oh.., something like that." Shikamaru clearly confirmed.

"I don't cry when no one's looking about Sasuke. And he doesn't look that sad becuase he doesn't feel like he can get close to me though." The shadow nin rasied his eye at the protest.

"Really?" He challenged, Naruto frowned but didn't speak.

"How do i resemble the lighter though?" Curiosity raising in the child like stare.

"Many similarities. maybe the most significant..., because you enlighten and bring people light. Especially Sasuke." Naruto grunted and accepted the reasoning.

"But you're the one enlightening me here." The blond countered.

"It is _my_ lighter." The brunette supplied tiredly. The shadow nin used the aforementioned lighter to threaten and induce a second hand smoke to others and first a served cancer to himself. Smoke screen covering him and becoming from parched lips.

"Anyway, go find Sasuke. Or... when the rain lets up." Shikamaru was now more intendant to finish the rolled up paper in peace. The blonde's childish face broke into a vulpine like grin.

"Thank you, Shikamaru." The kitsune pushed the all-too-bright grin on him.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed. The orange ninja leaving half it's color and Naruto's torso and head of blond hair suffering from becoming drenched. 'Direction of Sasuke' the jounin assumed.

-

"Sasuke....!" Said shinobi pivoted around to face the caller.

"Hn... Been a while, Dobe." Sasuke said, listlessly. Naruto shrunk at the lifeless form sitting contently around the raven and accessed the empty and broad path they were standing on. No company, no one legible to be watching.

"Your... standing near the gates. And I'm pretty sure you're freed from missions."

"True..." The sharingan user answered slowly. "You were avoiding me." He justified as he figured Naruto had guessed where he was heading out of.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke." Nartuto whispered, eyes closed and vulnerable.

"What for? Don't tell me you've went and done something bad behind my back." Sasuke's voice sounded rougher.

"No, but... it's pretty horrible for me to get you back here if it's only to shun and ignore you. I never... sorry." The blond swallowed heavily.

"Ah, so that was intentional." The raven sighed letting his head face up and staring at the sky. "What else?" Silence seeped into the air and Naruto thought against it.

"Am i forgiven?"

"Hn.. depends. What else were you wanting to say, spill it out Uzumaki." The dark haired boy said irritably.

"My point... Without any... distractions.. Greet me how you really wanted to back when I saw you that time." Naruto told his former team mate seriously. "And you were going to stick that thing through me..." He trailed off.

"What if my katana goes all the way through this time?" The raven said cautiously.

"I fukcing hope you don't." Naruto glared. "Myabe i hope and trust too much. But if you do... i just wont help it."

"Don't be stupid Dobe." Sasuke told him in a resigned tone. Sasuke moved languidly but Naruto's usually acute senses didn't see the Uchiha move behind him. Sasuke embraced Naruto from behind, pale arms wrapping themselves over a demon seal. At first rigidly, then he inhaled the scent and relaxed burrying his head into Naruto's shoulder to block any vision. Chaste.

"This.. this is how you would have greeted me?" The kitsune asked softly. The face in contact with his shoulder shifted.

"You seem comfortable enough with it."

"I would have struggled to get away then, wouldn't i. And there would have been something problematic with your new team standing around." Naruto mumbled softly in agreement.

"I still wouldn't have minded." Naruto mused. "But just this? Nothing further?" The fox questioned hopefully.

"Hn, I'd have to ask permission." Naruto took extra note that at some point they shifted at an angle they were near eye level and very close.

"Go ahead."

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Hm. I got to put the things i had been dying to put down. Shikamaru's genius, Naruto and Sasuke's greeting in Shippuden, and a lighter angst in Sasuke's returning. Good writing stimulation... on the other hand, crap spelling.

**R&R**


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